


Clara and Ten: A Trip Aboard Serenity

by orphan_account



Series: Clara and Ten [3]
Category: Doctor Who (2005), Firefly
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-29
Updated: 2016-02-06
Packaged: 2018-05-17 02:01:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5849704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor takes Clara to the 2100's, where they relax aboard the ship Serenity with Captain Mal Reynolds and his crew of smugglers. They intend to stay for a day or two. But while traveling with the Doctor, days tend to turn into weeks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Serenity Pt. 1

The TARDIS materialized quicker than it usually did. And with a bit less wheezing, which was weird. Since both the Doctor and Clara had grown so used to it by now, the lack of it felt odd. Clara followed him out of the doors to see she was inside a building of some kind. She couldn't make it all out as it was dark. Very crude in design, built entirely of metal. The staircases led up to a metal walkway near the ceiling, and there was a door leading somewhere on one end of the room. On the other was a sort of large gate. She could hear something humming, almost like an engine. That was when she realized that this wasn't a building. It was a ship of some kind. The Doctor said this was the 22nd Century, so most likely was a space ship. Though this did raise a few questions. Chiefly:

"Why are we on a space ship? You have a space ship. And it's blue and bigger on the inside and amazing and this is kind of... not any of those." Clara said. It wasn't bad, by any means. But compared to the TARDIS, not exactly great.

"I don't get it. Where's the crew?" the Doctor asked. "They should be here. The engine is still going."

"That's a very good question." a man said. Suddenly, the lights turned on. Clara heard several guns being locked. She saw two figures holding rifles on the metal walkway. One was a tall woman, the other an even taller man with a beard. He looked like he really wanted to shoot something. Clara held her hands up, as did the Doctor, but he didn't seem to be very afraid. The voice came from a man as tall as the Doctor. He wore a similar brown coat to him. He held a pistol right out of a cowboy movie. The Doctor walked towards him slowly.

"Well, I'm very good at asking the right questions." the Doctor replied. Clara's heart was racing. She'd only been here ten seconds and she was scared for her life. The Doctor and the other man in the coat stared each other down. It was only a matter of time before one of them acted. The tension was rising, their eyes locked.

And then they laughed. The Doctor and the man both grabbed and hugged each other. The rifleman and woman were laughing as well. Then it suddenly hit her. And she didn't laugh.

"Oh, I see. Ha ha. What an amazing joke that was." Clara remarked sarcastically. The Doctor acted like this was all perfectly fine.

"Oh, relax, wait till you hear what I told our doctor. That was one hell of a prank." the brown coated man said. "So, what's your business here?"

"Oh you know, just relaxing. Running all round time and space tires you out a bit after a while."

"Alright." the man said. He held up a sort of walkie talkie. "Everyone come to the main deck. An old friend is back. That includes you, Wash." As if they were all waiting by the door listening, which they probably were, several others walked into the room. The first was a young girl about the same height as Clara. She looked very young. The second was an older man wearing a priests uniform. The third was a young man wearing smart clothes. Well, smart compared to everyone else. "Sorry about that little joke, miss. My names Malcolm Reynolds. I'm captain of Serenity." He extended her hand. Clara nervously shook it.

"You're forgiven. For now." Clara said. She had to admit, Captain Reynolds was rather polite considering he'd just pulled a gun on them. "So, what do you do here on, uh, Serenity?"

"We do jobs to keep afloat, I guess you could say. This here is my crew. Most of them, anyway. That up there is Zoe." Malcolm pointed at the woman holding a rifle. She looked like she could be an Amazonian. "Old friend from the war. That's Jayne." He pointed to the man with beard. Zoe and Jayne had walked down the stairs to be more level with Clara and the Doctor. "He's just a mercenary. This is Kaylee. She runs the ship and keeps her going when we push her too far."

"Hi." the young girl said. She had a rather sweet voice. Clara waved slightly.

"This is Simon. He's a doctor. He's got a crazy sister, watch out for her. Where is she?" Malcolm continued. He looked around as if expecting some girl to pop out of nowhere.

"She's asleep." Simon answered.

"That's a surprise." Malcolm remarked. "And this is Shepard Book."

"Pleased to meet you, young lady." the Shepard said. He extended his hand and Clara shook it. Book was very friendly. He reminded Clara of the wise old wizards in stories her mother would read to her before bed.

"Alright, Captain. I'm guessing you did the 'pretend to hold them at gunpoint' thing." a man asked loudly. He walked down the stairs to stand by Zoe. "Who's the pretty girl?"

"Darling." Zoe said with a hint of warning. Definitely married.

"What, can I not say she's pretty?" the blonde man replied.

"This... charming thing is Wash. He pilots the ship." Malcolm finished. They looked like they should never be in the same room together. Yet here they were. Like some large, odd family. "This is the part where you introduce yourself."

"Oh, right, sorry. I'm Clara Oswald, I'm the Doctor's companion." Clara answered. For some reason, everyone had an odd reaction. They all looked rather flustered. Jayne, however, looked strangely excited.

"Um, Clara-" the Doctor started. He too was looking slightly embarrassed. Before he could explain, he was interrupted by a rather beautiful woman. She wore incredible flowing red clothes. Clara suddenly felt rather under dressed.

"Well, Captain. You called, I assume it's important." she asked.

"Good news, Inara. You got a new playmate. She's a companion too." Jayne said. Clara was starting to get confused now. She was definitely missing something.

"Is she? I didn't know the Doctor was into that sort of thing." Inara replied.

"Hang on, slow down. What sort of thing, what am I missing here?" Clara asked. The Doctor pulled her closer to get her attention.

"Uh, Clara, here's the thing. Companion means something, uh, different, nowadays." the Doctor started.

"What, like wife?" Clara guessed.

"Close. Sort of. Not really. Um-" the Doctor tried to explain, but he couldn't.

"Companion means whore." Malcolm said. Clara stood still as a statue for 3 seconds. Then, it clicked.

"OH GOD NO! No, no, no, no, we're not- we don't do that, no way- And I'm not... one of those. Absolutely not." Clara replied quickly. Everyone was trying to refrain from laughing. Except for Jayne. He just looked disappointed.

"Yeah, we're just- just friends, that's all. Just friends." the Doctor added.

"I'm very sorry to interrupt... whatever is happening, but who are these people? And how did they get on the ship?" Simon asked.

"Ah, of course. We've uh, we've gotten a few more crew members since you last saw us. Maybe we should discuss this over dinner." Malcolm proposed. Smiling, the Doctor followed him. Feeling a bit sheepish, Clara followed to.

'Way to make a first impression.' she thought to herself.


	2. Serenity Pt. 2

The kitchens on the ship looked rather nice, considering what the rest of the ship looked like. In fact, they looked much like kitchens in Clara's time. Which was odd. Clara assumed that normal home stuff like living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens would have changed drastically since the 21st Century. But it seemed not so. But on the other hand, maybe the food had changed drastically in all that time. A whole new solar system, that must have meant something new to eat. What greeted her looked like a chocolate cake. Not very new, but Clara couldn't complain that much. It was chocolate after all. Along with everyone else, Clara took a slice and ate some. The taste took her surprise. Or rather, the lack of taste. It tasted of nothing. Almost like bread, or water. No real taste at all. The lack of taste in her mouth made Clara do odd things with her mouth.

"You get used to it after a while." Malcolm Reynolds remarked with a grin. "So, Doctor, this is Simon. He's a proper doctor. Certified by the Academy."

The Doctor and Simon shook hands like proper gentlemen. Clara often forgot how dignified the Doctor could be.

"So, Simon. What's a man of your standards doing on a smuggling ship? No offense." the Doctor asked.

"None taken." Malcolm said. Though Jayne seemed to have taken a little offense.

"Well, me and my sister have had some trouble with the Alliance. We needed to get away safely, and this was the best way." Simon explained. "What about you, Doctor? What do you and, uh, Miss Clara do?"

"Oh, we travel about. And run, there's a lot of running. Good for the lungs though, I think." the Doctor replied. As the Doctor and the Captain conversed, Clara watched the crew interact with each other. Zoe and Wash always had a remark for what the other had to say, a sign of a great relationship. Jayne and the Shepard seemed to get along. For a long while, Clara sat in silence. Then, Kaylee got up.

"Captain, I'm going to check the engine if that's OK with you." she asked politely.

"Go ahead. But don't blow us up." Malcolm replied. Kaylee left the room. Feeling a bit left out here, Clara got up and left the room with her.

"Hey, Kaylee uh-" Clara started. Kaylee stopped and turned to face her. "Any chance I could see the engine? It's just I've never seen a 22nd Century ship engine before."

"Sure, follow me." Kaylee replied with a smile. Clara followed her closely as they went deeper into the ship. "A lot of people don't like Firefly class ships. They think they're too unreliable, but they're just like any other ship. You take care of her, she takes care of you. And Serenity is like no other."

"Why Serenity?"  Clara asked.

"Ask the Captain. Or don't, you'll get the same answer." Kaylee responded. As they neared the engine room, Clara got the sense she was being watched. She turned to see a young girl hiding slightly behind a corner. She had all the body language of a scared child, wanting to talk but too frightened to do anything.

"Hey, what's your name?" Clara asked quietly.

"River." the girl said nervously. Clara noticed she wasn't wearing any shoes. Or socks, just bare feet. How could she stand the metal? It must be freezing.

"What's wrong, River?" Clara asked, a little louder this time.

"There are too many of you. Too many yous all over the place. And none of them live for long." River answered. As Clara considered asking her more, River walked away as quickly as she appeared. Clara scratched her hair and went back to join Kaylee in the engine room. The engine itself was outstanding. It spun counter clockwise, as if it was floating in mid air.

"This here is the beating heart of the greatest ship in the verse. She's a beauty, ain't she?" Kaylee said. Clara starred at it in awe. "So, how long will you and the Doctor be staying?"

"Not sure." Clara replied. "And I quite like it that way."


	3. Smith and Reynolds

"Unfortunatly, you're going to have to sleep in Jayne's quarters. So do yourself a favour. Don't touch his stuff, don't wake him up, and don't say anything smart." were the Captain's only words as Clara found herself in Jayne's room. Jayne himself looked rather pleased to have a woman in his room, though Clara didn't entirely want to know why. Jayne was holding a pistol in his hand as he checked the clip that went into it. He pulled back a blanket by his bed to reveal a small army's worth of guns and explosives. Pistols, rifles, shotguns, grenades, anything you could think of. Clara gawked at the collection he had. Jayne noticed.

"Out here you need to be careful. And out here, careful just means having more guns than the other guy." Jayne explained. "You ever fired a gun before?"

"Promise you won't tell the Doctor?" Clara asked. Jayne zipped his mouth shut. "My uncle was quite the gun fanatic. He sort of insisted I at least know how to use one in the worst case scenario. One time on holiday, my parents were foolish enough to leave me alone with him for more than 10 minutes. The look on their faces when they saw me at the shooting range. How did you learn how to use one?"

"My mother taught me everything I knew. She was smart, she was. Smarter than I ever could be. And she could shoot a raven a mile away." Jayne answered. "That's your bed over there. Any other questions to get out of the way before I can get some good sleep?"

"Just one. How do you know the Doctor?" Clara asked.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The corridors were dark, the power was out. Reavers could be heard close behind. Malcolm and Kaylee were running faster than they could ever remember running. Malcolm could run faster, but he wanted to make sure Kaylee had a better chance than he did. They saw the crew held up at the end of the corridor. The doors were closing. Kaylee gave herself a sudden burst of speed, and Malcolm turned to give the Reavers one last shooting. He managed to take down 3 before he followed Kaylee and the doors shut behind him.

"Status?" Malcolm asked urgently. He checked the bullets in his rifle and his pistol. Neither had many left.

"Not good, sir. Even if the Reavers can't figure a way in, we have no way of calling for help. We have no food, little water. I say we wait it out in here." Zoe said quickly. She too was checking her bullets.

"What if they do get in? I ain't dying at the hands of those goddamn things." Jayne screamed. He held his shotgun tightly and closely.

"Captain, I'm scared. I'm really scared. Where's Inara, is she OK?" Kaylee cried. Malcolm quickly brought Kaylee down to her knees to kneel with him, as though in prayer.

"Kaylee, listen to me, Inara will be fine. Wash, can we get in contact with her?" Malcolm asked.

"I can't get any signal. Hopefully, that means she's far away from here." Wash said. His normal joking nature was gone. He held a pistol in one hand and Zoe's hand in the other.

"How are we gonna do this, Captain?" Jayne asked as he loaded his shotgun with every bullet he had left.

"Kaylee, you stay at the back. The rest of us will kill as many Reavers as we can. Make sure you count your shots. When you're down to your last bullet, you know what to do." Malcolm shouted. Kaylee moved behind them, Jayne moved in front of her, as if to act like a human shield. The Reavers could be heard scraping and lunging at the doors. Then, they started screaming. It was a horrible scream, like the screams of death. Malcolm knew those screams too well. Then, there was a blissful silence. But no one lowered their guard. The doors opened. Malcolm, Zoe, Jayne all raised their guns together. Wash and Kaylee held each other closely. And out of the smoke walked a man in a suit. The Reavers lied dead on the ground. And behind him was Inara. Kaylee ran towards her with delight, and the women hugged tightly.

"Is everyone alright?" the stranger asked. The crew all nodded, except for the captain. The stranger knelled to examine the bodies.

"Are they dead?" Malcolm asked, still holding his rifle as if expecting the reavers to jump up and attack them again.

"Yep. No brain activity. Organs aren't functioning. Even a Reaver can't get up from that."

"But, how did-" Jayne started, but the stranger interrupted him.

"Oh, Reaver's brains are incredibly sensitive. Playing some infra-sound does the trick. They can feel it, but they can't hear it. Body and mind don't match, everything panics, brain activity goes through the roof, heart starts beating too fast: boom, no more Reaver. Right then, there are bound to be more on the way, so we need to get back to my ship as fast as possible. Everyone with me?"

"No, we aren't. Who the hell are you?" Malcolm asked quickly. The stranger stood up and looked the captain right in the eye.

"I'm the Doctor. The Last of the Time Lords of Gallifrey. 905 years old. The man who is going to save you and your crew from certain death and far worse. Will that suffice?" the stranger shouted with a level of command matched only by Captain Reynolds. The crew stood in silent admiration. No one had managed to take down a group of Reaver's like he had. Malcolm finally put his rifle down.

"For now." Malcolm replied.

"In that case, Allons-y." the Doctor announced. He walked back to the dark corridor and the entire crew followed him without a second thought. The captain walked up to match him.

"How did you find us?" Malcolm asked. He held his rifle close at hand.

"I ran into Inara. She was in one hell of a hurry. She asked for help, so here I am." the Doctor answered.

"So, who are you exactly? A member of the Alliance, a smuggler, trader, criminal mastermind, what?" Malcolm continued asking.

"Oh, I just travel about. I save people when I can. Here we are, just round here. Oh." the Doctor suddenly stopped. He held a strange silver device to the air. It was humming slightly. "There's more Reaver's incoming. Come on!" the whole crew started running again. They opened a door to find a strange blue box in a storage room. The Doctor opened the door and got in. The crew remained outside, gobsmacked at what lay in front of them. The Doctor poked his head back out of the box. "Well, don't just stand there. Get in."

"What the hell is that?" Jayne asked.

"It's my ship." the Doctor replied.

"That doesn't look like a ship to me." Kaylee said.

"Trust me, it's far more roomy than it looks." the Doctor replied, getting more agitated as they stood there like idiots. Malcolm ran in first. The others followed his lead. What they saw made their jaws drop.

"It-it's-" Malcolm started.

"Yes, it's bigger on the inside, no, I don't have time to explain, and yes, you should hold on to something." the Doctor quickly explained. He pulled on a lever and the ship jerked and pulled itself in various directions without warning. Everyone grabbed for what was closest to them. Malcolm lunged for the controls. "Sorry, who are you?"

"Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity." Malcolm answered, looking pretty breathless.

"Nice to meet you, Captain Reynolds." the Doctor replied. As they shook hands, the Doctor pulled on another lever.


	4. Clara's First Bar Fight

Clara had spent only a few days on Serenity, yet she seemed to get on with the crew even more than the Doctor did. Kaylee was always eager to show Clara how Serenity worked. Mal told Clara about the war against the Alliance. Wash and Zoe were good for company if you could handle the flirting. Even Jayne, as 'simple' as he was could be good for a laugh. Maybe it was Clara's friendliness with his crew that made Mal want to take Clara to a bar while he negotiated a job for the crew. It was Mal, Clara, Zoe, Jayne and Inara who were coming. Zoe and Mal were for back up in case things got sour. Clara was there for sightseeing. Inara went along in the hopes of getting a decent client. Just as they headed out, Clara peaked into the TARDIS to speak to the Doctor.

"You sure you don't want to come?" she shouted.

"Nah, never really liked bars. Have fun. Don't get into any trouble." the Doctor ordered. Clara sped up to join the rest as they headed into town. The planet felt like a desert. Greenery could only be seen far in the distance. The town itself was nothing but sand and a few streets. Clara followed the others into the bar. The people there didn't look entirely friendly. Clara subconsciously clenched her fists as self defense in advance. Mal walked to sit down with a few men in rugged suits while Zoe and Jayne sat on two opposite sides of the bar. Most likely to make sure the men in suits were surrounded in case things got bad. Clara stood against a column, listening in on everyone else. Mostly Mal and his 'business partners.'

"Badger ain't exactly keen on you at the moment. Not after you nearly buggered up that last job." one of the men in suits said. "Told us you got into a little trouble."

"Yeah, sword fight with some rich bloke over a companion." another suited man said.

"Easy, fellas. Let's just get down to business. What's the job?" Mal retorted, avoiding the subject.

"Simple enough. Some scavengers stole a bunch of expensive medical supplies from the Alliance and buried them somewhere in the desert. You find them, get them to Badger, we pay you. Should be easy for a man of your, uh, reputation." the first suited man answered.

"That's it? I was expecting something a bit more grand. Oh well, an easy job should do us the world of good." Mal said. The suited men stood up and left out the back. Mal finished off all of their drinks. Clara turned to see Inara talking with a few locals. All through her uni years, Clara was the 'spotter'. The one who took her friends out of the pub in case some asshole started getting too 'friendly'. Even in the 22nd Century, these assholes gave off the same signals. Clara watched as they slowly considered reaching in for a grab. Eventually, one of them made a lunge for her. Clara's instincts kicked in and she walked over quickly as he started to pull Inara in.

"If you haven't paid, you can't touch." Inara warned.

"Says who?" the man said. He was clearly drunk. Clara walked between them and pushed the man away. He was so drunk he fell over. Clara didn't even use half her strength.

"Right now, I do." Clara warned. His friends looked on with interest. Inara grabbed Clara's arm and gently pulled her away. The man got up just as Clara turned her back.

"I guess this whore is taken." the man said. His friends all laughed slightly. That forth word struck a nerve. Clara stopped in her tracks and became stiff as a rock. She turned slowly and faced the drunk fool.

"What did you say?" Clara asked, hiding her anger by biting down on her lip. The bar turned very quiet.

"Hey, I got no problem, you want her for a night, go ahead." the man blubbered. Clara walked within striking distance. Her breath was slower and heavier. Her heart was pounding with anger.

"Repeat your last sentence or I will add your teeth to my collection." Clara threatened. The man stood up. He kept adjusting his footing as he drank the last of his beer and walked closer to Clara. Huge mistake.

"This whore is taken. Now, what are you going to do?" the man said, trying to sound threatening even though he could barely stand.

"This." Clara said quickly. She kneed him right in his weak spot, and as he bent over and wheezed at the pain, she threw him onto the ground. All of a sudden, the bar was chaotic. Clara heard bottles being smashed and wood being thrown all around. Another man grabbed her from behind and tried to restrict her movement. She grabbed him and threw him onto a table. The table broke under his weight and he was winded upon impact. Clara saw Jayne handling two guys at once. He headbutted one and kept a tight hold of the other. Clara looked around and saw a pool cue. She picked it up and held it like a bat. "Jayne!" she shouted. Jayne guided the man towards Clara and she whacked him round the head, knocking him out instantly.

"This your first bar fight?" Jayne asked nonchalantly.

"It's my first fight in the bar, if you catch my drift." Clara replied. She and Jayne went back to the fight. Mal and Zoe were damn good in a fight. Mal certainly knew how to take a punch. One man struck him four times in a row and Mal just punched him once and that was that. Within a few seconds, the fight was pretty much over. Everyone involved was out for the count. Except for Mal, Zoe, Jayne, and of course Clara. Inara had kept to the sidelines. When he realized the fight was over, Mal walked over to Clara.

"The next time you pull a stunt like that, warn me first." Mal warned.


End file.
